MANDEC 7pm
Roger Mitchell
An exploration of buildings that are small and personal with a degree of originality about them. The word “folly” is lurking in the background but “buildings of delight” avoids the implication of uselessness and self-indulgence. Buildings from all over Britain and from each of the last five centuries will be discussed. They include everything from triangular lodges and pineapples to hilltop towers and mill chimneys that were commissioned by a great variety of patrons for many different reasons.
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Wednesday 18 January 2012
Royal Northern College of Music, 7:15 pm
Epilepsy at the Movies
Dr Sallie Baxendale
Clinical Psychologist, UCL
Dr. Baxendale explores the ways in which epilepsy and seizures are used in the lyrics of musicians from a wide variety of musical genres, from hip–hop to rhythm and blues. Many of the ancient associations of epilepsy with madness, horror, and lunacy can be found in these lyrics. However, the language of epilepsy has also been appropriated by some musical artists to represent a state of sexual ecstasy and dance euphoria.
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Tuesday 24 January 2012Manchester Business School, 7pm
LESLIE SMYTH MEMORIAL LECTURE
Dalton and Commerce: Two Highlights in the Life of a Manchester Librarian
Dr Diana Leitch
Former Deputy University Librarian,
John Rylands University Library
Dr Leitch was deeply involved with the preservation of the Dalton manuscripts and will highlight Leslie Smyth's work in this area and his role in the creation of the Commercial Library at Manchester Public Libraries Service for which he was awarded the MBE.
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Tuesday 31 January 2012
MANDEC 7pm
JOULE LECTURE
Smart Electricity Grids
Professor Peter Crossley
Professor of Power Systems, University of Manchester
The UK national grid originated before WW2 as a means of providing mains electricity everywhere in the UK, and it was fed with power from a series of Power Stations which ran continuously, and burned Coal, Gas or Oil. The current diversity of supply proposals envisage many small-scale intermittent generators, generally using renewable sources of energy, and the grid needs to have a wide range of new properties to make the best use of this range of inputs. A modern smart grid must be able to heal itself while maintaining the supply, motivate consumers to be involved in the grid operation, accommodate all generation and storage options, and run with the highest possible efficiency.
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